Pneumatically powered pumps for pumping fluids have found applications in a variety of environments. Such pumps have commonly been utilized for pumping water for agricultural and residential uses, and less frequently, for pumping petroleum from beneath the earth's surface. Basic pneumatic pumps typically expel the fluid that has entered the pump's chamber by sending compressed gas from the surface down an intake tube to the chamber. The gas exerts pressure upon the fluid causing it to exit the chamber through an outlet tube and rise to the earth's surface. The gas is then exhausted from the pump chamber through an exhaust tube, the chamber is allowed to refill with the fluid and the cycle is repeated. While this system works, it is subject to some major hindrances. The compressor and other necessary equipment necessary for operating the pump is located at the surface. The entire length of the intake tube, therefore, must be filled with compressed gas before the gas exerts sufficient pressure upon the fluid so that the fluid will begin to exit the pump chamber. For deeper wells requiring expansive tube lengths, large lag times ca be created while the intake tube fills with gas. Even when the pump is at a shallower depth, the constant need to refill the intake tube before the fluid is pumped creates an inefficient method of operation. Furthermore, it is frequently difficult for the pump operator to determine the time of the cycle between the intake and exhaust strokes of the pump.
Numerous other drawbacks exist with prior pneumatic pumps. The equipment necessary to operate the pumps results in a large surface profile for the pumps. Furthermore, many pumps are unsuited for anything but ideal environmental conditions or for pumping the solids that commonly are suspended within the fluids and thus require expensive and frequent maintenance.
A need exists, therefore, for an efficient pneumatic pump capable of reliably pumping fluids in a variety of environments.